Generalization on a Plate: The Science Behind My Mess Food Bias

There are three messes in my college. In order to avoid any diplomatic incidents, let's call them Mess A, Mess B, and Mess C. Now, mess food has a bit of a reputation—one that often rivals bad airplane meals and failed cooking experiments on YouTube. But nothing could have prepared me for my first encounter with it.

The Mess A Trauma: A Cautionary Tale

The first time I ever had mess food, it was in Mess A. I don't remember what I ate that day, but I do remember the existential crisis it triggered. My taste buds went into shock, my stomach issued a formal protest, and my brain made a mental note: Avoid Mess A at all costs. From that day on, I didn't need to try every dish in Mess A, I knew it was bad. My first experience had been so terrible that I generalized it to every food item ever served there.

Was that a fair assumption? Probably not. But when survival instincts kick in, fairness is a secondary concern.

The Kadhi Catastrophe: Mess B’s Betrayal

Then came Mess B, which was supposedly better. But one bite of their Punjabi tadka kadhi, and I realized I had been led into a trap. The kadhi was sweet. Sweet. As any North Indian will tell you, kadhi is supposed to be tangy, slightly spicy, and comforting. But this? This was a betrayal in liquid form.

From that moment onward, I couldn’t trust Mess B. Every dish they served became suspect. Common consensus in the college suggested that Mess B was actually decent, but my brain had already drawn its conclusions: if they could mess up kadhi, what else were they capable of?

The Psychology of Generalization

Now, what was happening here wasn’t just my refined taste buds being offended, it was generalization at work. In psychology, generalization occurs when a learned response to one stimulus is applied broadly to similar stimuli.

In my case:

• One bad experience in Mess A → All food in Mess A = Bad.

• One tragic kadhi incident in Mess B → Entire Mess B = Suspicious.

This is the same reason why someone who was once bitten by a dog might become afraid of all dogs, or why a single awkward public speaking moment can make you avoid presentations forever. The brain is efficient (sometimes too efficient) and when it learns something unpleasant, it tends to overextend the lesson.

But here’s where it gets interesting. The reason I’ve become so rigid in my mess food opinions has a lot to do with how my brain processed these traumatic encounters.

The Neuroscience of Mess Food Trauma

• Amygdala: This little almond-shaped structure is responsible for emotional processing, especially fear and aversion. When I took that disastrous first bite, my amygdala went into overdrive, encoding a strong negative emotional response. Result? Instant food-based trauma.

• Hippocampus: This part of the brain helps encode memories with context—so now, every time I even see Mess A or B, my hippocampus reminds me of past disappointments, reinforcing my aversion.

• Dopamine and the Reward System: Normally, good food leads to a dopamine release, reinforcing the desire to eat there again. But in my case, the absence of a rewarding experience likely strengthened avoidance learning. Instead of “that was good, let’s do it again,” my brain screamed, “NEVER AGAIN.”

• Prefrontal Cortex: This is the part of the brain that helps with rational thinking and discrimination (not the problematic kind, the useful kind). If I engaged in it more, I might be able to tell myself, “Hey, maybe the other food in Mess B isn’t that bad.” But let’s be real—once your amygdala makes up its mind, logic takes a backseat.

Breaking the Cycle: Discrimination in Learning

But here’s the good news: generalization isn’t the end of the story. Discrimination, the ability to distinguish between similar stimuli, can help break these overly broad associations.

For instance, what if I gave Mess B another shot, but this time, I tried something else? Maybe their dal makhani is fantastic. Maybe their paneer actually tastes like paneer. Slowly, my brain might learn that while their kadhi is an abomination, the rest of their food isn’t.

(As for Mess A… well, some things are beyond redemption.)

Why This Matters Beyond Mess Food

Generalization isn’t just about food, it’s about life. We generalize based on past experiences all the time, often without realizing it. One bad relationship can make someone swear off dating. One tough math exam can convince you that you're ‘bad at numbers.’ But just like with my mess food misadventures, stepping back and discriminating between different situations can help break these limiting beliefs.

So, if you ever find yourself making sweeping assumptions about anything, be it food, people, or experiences, ask yourself: Am I generalizing? And more importantly, is it time to give something a second chance?

(Except for Mess A. That’s a lost cause.)